Archive for the ‘Chicago’ tag

Chicago’s very own Julian Jones’ brilliance was featured in the feature film “Animator” that debuted earlier this month at the Black Harvest Film Festival at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago.

His mom Roberta Jones, wrote and produced the film that was shot entirely in Chicago. She enlisted Julian, whose hobby is animated storytelling, to create all of the animations for the film. The Chicago Sun Times’ Richard Roeper heralded “Animator” saying “this is a well-paced, good-looking film with some absolutely gorgeous animation and fine performances from the two leads and the supporting cast.”

At Black Harvest Film Festival, Chicago the setting for 5 fine films

Aug. 30 with screenings of movies about African Americans and the African diaspora and post-show discussions with their makers. Here’s a look at five worth seeing, all made in Chicago:

‘Animator’

8:30 p.m. Aug. 17, 8:15 p.m. Aug. 21

“Animator” | PROVIDED PHOTO

In this fictional gem, writer and producer Roberta Jones and director Logan Hall spin the intriguing story of a man who strikes a Faustian bargain, becomes drunk on selfish wish-fulfillment and loses sight of what matters.

Levenix Riddle is outstanding as Neal, a talented but struggling illustrator who is given the ability to control his destiny (and the fates of others) through mystical powers handed down through generations of West-African griots, or storytellers.

Quite simply put, if Neal draws something in his notebook and signs his name to the illustration, that thing will happen.

When his buddy laments how a beautiful co-worker doesn’t even notice him, Neal draws a picture of the two kissing — and it happens.

Low on funds, Neal draws a pic of himself withdrawing a thick stack of cash from the ATM — and bingo, the cash is there when he actually goes to an ATM.

Mackenzie Chinn does fine work as Neal’s love interest, Tina, who is startled and not altogether happy when Neal reveals his secret to her. Things take a dark turn and reach the point of possible tragedy, and now Neal faces a life-and-death decision.

This is a well-paced, good-looking film with some absolutely gorgeous animation and fine performances from the two leads and the supporting cast. Rating:★★★

This Mother’s Day, MKTG in partnership with our long-standing client P&G, managed messaging & production to create digital content in a some key NFL markets – Chicago, Indianapolis, Oakland and Pittsburgh – where players and coaches surprised some hard-working Moms in the area with gifts including Tide products and team merchandise. As an added bonus, the players and coaches took over laundry duty so these amazing moms could kick back and relax a bit, something all Moms deserve!

Check out some highlights from the Oakland Raiders and Head Coach Jon Gruden over on Twitter HERE or below!

When Lucky Charms began planning the introduction of their first charm in ten years…a UNICORN… they gave MKTG a call to make sure it was as much fun and flawlessly launched, as it was memorable and a shareable experience.

In support of the introduction of the Unicorn charm, MKTG concepted, developed and produced the “Lucky Charms Unicorn Land” at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago that was essentially a “live pop-up book” experience that encouraged the creation and capture of kid’s very own unicorn stories of how the unicorn charm got its magical power.

We created an immersive experience for kids to let their imaginations run wild as they frolicked amongst the Lucky Charms storyline that we brought to life.

The experience: Upon entry into Unicorn Land, the kids were asked to draw what they imagined the unicorn looked like; to tell us what they thought it sounded like; and demonstrate to us what they thought its power was. In another area of activation, they got to meet Lucky the Leprechaun in person, jump into the “Charms Chase” booth to capture magical prizes, and best of all, walk away with a new box of Lucky Charms complete with the new unicorn charm.

To bring all of the elements together we also produced a live puppet show that featured Lucky and the Unicorn. The participants were then asked to deliver their own show where they expressed their own personal interpretation of how the unicorn got into their box of cereal and what the unicorn’s magical power is.

In the end frankly, the big kids and the little kids had a blast. Take a look at the gallery below to get a taste of the action! Also, if you want to learn more about the activation, reach out to Erica Calhoun, Chad Shirley, Brianna Engleke, Cam Armstrong, Kurt Russell or Donald Dahl.

June was Pride Month, and MKTG has been leading client Liberty Mutual in their sponsorship and support of the LGBTQ community. As part of a year-long platform based on the strategy of Liberty Mutual’s core brand positioning of “Liberty Stands With You”, MKTG secured a partnership with LGBTQ support organization GLAAD to kick-off the brand’s messaging platform at their annual Media Awards in NY & LA in April and May respectively. In June, Liberty Mutual continued to stand with the LGBTQ community through on-site activations and employee participation at Pride Parade events in key consumer markets of Boston, Chicago and New York. Check out a few photos and gifs below!

Last night at the Ex Awards, held annually as the “Golden Globes of the Experiential Marketing Business”, at Chicago’s McCormick Place, MKTG and our partner Gatorade took home the award for “Best Consumer Environment” for our GATORADE FUEL LAB experience.

Gatorade Fuel Lab was an integrated solution, employing technology aimed at simplifying the consumer experience, while elevating Gatorade’s latest innovations. The Fuel Lab consumer journey was a seamless process from start to finish, designed in an innovative, sleek manner that would resonate with both audience groups and achieve our goals.

Pre-event, our mobile-first registration experience served as an efficient method to collect user info, with unified opt-in collection. While attendees waited to enter the experience, they received the opportunity to engage with custom virtual reality experiences. Attendees were led into our introduction video chamber, in which the scientific foundation, athlete insights and the future innovations were showcased.

Next, was the Hydration Customization Chamber, where they were greeted by a personalized touchscreen and guided through a customization process to design their Gatorade bottle. After watching the second video, the Future of Fuel, in which Gatorade’s beta innovations and personalization plans are described, attendees were led to the Locker Room of the Future. Here they saw examples of the Gx system and engaged with our live version of a locker room of the future. After their personal locker lit up, attendees found their customized bottle and Gatorade pack. Kind of awesome, if we must say so ourselves!

And hats off to our partners who helped bring the Fuel Lab to life: FH, VML, Lapine and Paragon Marketing Group!

Mary Kate Pleggenkuhle of MKTG Chicago and founder of Obvi, We’re the Ladies!

We’re bringing back employee spotlights, and this month’s spotlight is on our very own Mary Kate Pleggenkuhle from MKTG Chicago. Check out her Q&A below to catch a glimpse into what makes Mary Kate..well…Mary Kate!

Name: Mary Kate Pleggenkuhle

Position: Project Manager

Office: Chicago

Hometown: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

How long have you been with MKTG?: 2 years

Blurb on the back of your business card: “We’ll give you 50 bucks if you can say Mary Kate’s last name 10 times fast. We have no idea what the name means, but knowing this girl it could mean anything from 1) a complex philosophical theory (she’s been keeping a journal since age 11), 2) A synonym for whistling (she’s very good at whistling), or 3) The sound of terrible table manners (drives her absolutely nuts). Either way, what a name, right?”

What are you passionate about outside of work? Outside of MKTG, my passion project is called “Obvi, We’re The Ladies.” It’s a website I started my senior year of college.

Why did you decide to start X? I was so hungry for some kind of awakening and purpose while in college. I became very interested in women’s issues and feminism, and wanted to get a better understanding of how being a woman affected my identity as a human being. The concept of the site started as an opportunity for me to document my journey to understand these things better. I was going to write about my experiences in the world as a young woman, and hopefully find some people who would connect with me on a personal level, and in turn we would learn that we weren’t alone. I wanted to talk about women’s issues in a way that wasn’t generalizing or preaching or patronizing or disparaging to others with differing opinions, I wanted to talk about the issues in a way that was personal. Quickly, as more women became interested and involved, I found the purpose I had been searching for in the site I created!

Who else is involved? – I have an amazing team working on Obvi, and we’re constantly growing. I have two of my oldest friends, a few of my college friends and a whole bunch of women that I met through social media contributing essays. It’s amazing. A small portion of our team assists with editing, social media, and other behind the scenes responsibilities, and I run the ship. Some of the Ladies are my best friends, and I’ve still never met them in person!

What are your plans to launch? On May 1, 2016 we are launching a video series that we have been working on it for what seems like forever, and finally have all of the resources we need to complete the project. It’s so exciting. The series will feature some of our Ladies as well as some friends from other Chicago women’s groups discussing feminism, womanhood, and societal beauty standards (to name a few topics). We want to provide a platform to help educate people who want to better understand some issues in a way that is palatable and entertaining. I can’t wait to share it.

What are you hoping to accomplish? – At Obvi, we believe that storytelling is activism. We share stories about things that may seem trivial to some, and things that are extremely serious, because regardless, that story matters to the Lady telling it. I hope that as time goes on, we can evolve the ways in which we share stories from written word and video to in-person programs and beyond.

To follow Mary Kate on her social channels, check out her handles below!

DICK’S Sporting Goods, the largest U.S.-based sporting goods retailer with more than 600 locations has chosen MKTG INC as its Event, Community and Experiential Agency-of-Record. We are tasked with providing strategy, planning, account management, as well as sponsorship activation of the 2015 DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, line-of-business expansion development and ongoing integration and positioning of community marketing managers.

“We have been working with MKTG for well over a year on several projects and have been so impressed with how, from strategy through to execution, they consistently over-deliver,” said Mark Rooks, DICK’S Sporting Goods Vice President of Sports and Community Marketing. “This is a really exciting time at DICK’S as we roll out several sponsorships and consumer and business-facing programs that MKTG will help us bring to market. We could not be more thrilled with our selection.”

“We are so proud of our great success and influence within the retail, sports, entertainment and community-building space over the years and have truly enjoyed working with DICK’S in helping them think differently about their sponsorship and engagement executions,” said Charlie Horsey, CEO, MKTG INC. “DICK’S Sporting Goods is loved by people of all ages, which makes developing strategies, to engage consumers and the DICK’S community so exciting by leveraging both digital tools and live activations that resonate.”

The account will lead by Kevin Collins, GM of MKTG’s Chicago office and the core team will include members form across the agency’s US footprint.

This year’s holiday party proved once again that the New York office really knows how to “shake things up.” As guests stepped into our snowglobe-themed party space they stepped inside the wintery world of an MKTG snowglobe. Glittering gobo snowflakes fell from the ceiling while polar bears posed for selfies, loving coworkers pelted each other with fake snowballs, and the snowmen of IT mosh-pit the red-hot dance floor. In a word: face-melting.

ATLANTA

psLIVE Atlanta hosted its Ugly Sweater Party on December 18th, utilizing our very own expansive warehouse space, and it was a huge success! Our annual traditions were intact—volunteering at the Salvation Army in the morning, a heated Bingo competition, Secret Santa gift exchanges, and our awards ceremony. We were spoiled with a southern style BBQ dinner before the awards which gave us the energy to celebrate all night! We crowned our very deserving award recipients as well as our Ugliest Sweater victor and moved out on the dance floor. With so many talented dancers, an impromptu dance-off went down and it epic! Victors were crowned and moments were forever burned into our memories. It was a great night of fun and camaraderie with friends and colleagues alike. We can’t wait to do it again next year!

CHICAGO

The MKTG Chicago holiday party took place on December 11th in the covered patio of Stella Barra Pizzeria. The team enjoyed countless snacks, fancy seats, the company of special guests such as Ron Burgundy and Storm Trooper, homemade ice cream, and a very exciting White Elephant gift exchange. The team finished off the night with some extreme karaoke and a second feast of leftover pizza.

The Cincinnati office gathered for an ugly sweater & cookie exchange day! Some folks made sweaters, others borrowed and sadly – a few even owned. Our VP of Creative has a special name for these “ugly sweaters” and refers to them as “Holiday Awareness Sweaters”. She claims to own none. A fun day was had by all and even those too lazy to bake (the men) were lucky enough to get a few leftover cookies of their own. Merry Christmas from Cincinnati!

LONDON

MKTG London celebrated the holidays with some new friends this year. With Charlie Horsey and Matt Manning making appearances we were kindly invited to the psLIVE Christmas party. The celebration started with a quiet team lunch at a French Brasserie in the new neighbourhood in North London. We then headed down to the psLIVE office and got a tour of the new digs and had a cocktail hour to meet some of the new team. The party then made its way to Shoreditch House in East London to carry on the festivities. The memories came rushing back from 2012 and the Olympics activation as we made our way up to the rooftop.

Great views, great food and great company made this end to 2014 one to remember for MKTG London as we move into a new era in 2015.

MKTG INC NY revived Warhol’s Factory party at its Warholiday last Thursday. Pop art images were hung around the wall and the iconic silver balloons drifted across the ceiling. It almost felt like Warhol was there as partygoers wore blonde and brightly colored wigs at the photo booth. Of course, the Factory won’t be complete without art– partygoers created personalized pop art holiday cards to send to family and friends.

The Warholiday truly lived up to the legendary Silver Factory!

SAN FRANCISCO | LA

MKTG INC SF & LA took their party to Neverland!

The SF office spent the evening with MKTG INC LA and members of the Diageo team aboard Forbes Island- a floating island located off of San Francisco’s Pier 39. The night was full of great food, plenty of drinks and exceptional company. It was the perfect way to send off 2013 as we head in to the New Year.

CHICAGO

Chicago’s finest celebrated the end of another great year at the local speakeasy, Green Door Tavern. While some city folk don a suit or dress and go to a gala, we decided to get in touch with what makes this city so great: good people, a nice cocktail and a roaring fire. We drank, we ate, we laughed, and most importantly we didn’t walk more than a block in the cold. And of course there was the white elephant where we continued the annual tradition of swapping different types of booze. ‘Twas a classy christmas soiree.

LONDON

MKTG INC x PLATTERFORM: LUMBERJACK CHRISTMAS

Date: Monday, 9th December

Time: 5:00PM

Location: Skylodge @ The Hothouse, 274 Richmond Road, London, E8 3QW

Blow-torched marshmallows and hot rum-cider toddies welcomed the MKTG INC London team upon arrival to the Skylodge – a pop-up experiential dining haven set up by the culinary creative collective, Platterform.

After a few rounds of nine-inch nail banging, (one of many lumberjack games in store for the night) a spread of “Lumbersnacks” began a 4-course feast. Mac’n’Cheese, Maple Hot Wings, and Baby Back Ribs were among the appetizers, so needless to say the team had some calories to work off. Luckily there was an intense game of “Moosical Logs” yet to be played.

However first, MKTG INC enjoyed a beautiful campfire acoustic set by London band, Fawn, while snuggled up in blankets during the final course: a maple and berry pancake dessert. Guest appearances were made by the Abominable Snowman and a strange lion before the end of the night when all the little lumberjacks went home to hang up their plaid shirts.

If you’re dreading your holiday travels over the river and through the woods this year, you might look in an unexpected direction for some comfort — up in the air. MKTG INC has teamed up with our friends at DISH to make your annual flight to Grandma’s house more enjoyable. DISH’s partnership with Southwest Airlines means passengers can now watch live TV, completely free, on WiFi -enabled Southwest Airlines aircraft.

Turns out that watching live TV from 10,000 feet is simple: Turn on your iPhone, enable the Wi-Fi, open up the browser, and bingo — next thing you know you’re watching Joanna Krupa and Lisa Hochstein have a go at each other…or, er… you’re watching Power Lunch on CNBC while flying in the sky.

With the weather nasty, maybe you’re dreading a flight delay? There’s nothing to fear with the DISH Hopper, a DVR that transfers to your iPad, so you can watch your favorite shows from Seat 28C just like you’re in your own living room La-Z Boy.

Don’t have an iPad? No problem, feel free to borrow one from our friendly Brand Ambassadors, so you can still enjoy your flight with complementary live TV. Come see for yourself this holiday season:

Chicago (Midway): through November 24
Denver: through December 3
Oakland: through December 3